The author doesn't get the most common problem with perfectionism. "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Perfectionists often give up entirely, because of some perceived deficiency, instead of powering through to the end.
Of course, keep practicing to get better. Nobody says otherwise. But don't stop practicing just because you can't get it right every time. It's the ALL or NOTHING attitude that's the problem, where getting past failure requires SOMETHING in the pursuit of the ALL.
We need something like "tenant rights" for online marketplaces in addition to legal protections similar to what happens with evictions. This will not be solved voluntarily by the "landlords."
Landlording poses significant risks which you also must take into account. Thus if your net worth is 500k and all of it is in a rental unit, what happens if your renter floods the house or damages it in some other way?
What happens when your renter quits paying rent and starts legal proceedings based on a grievance, real or perceived? Now you cannot sell the house nor are you collecting rents.
Lastly see my other comments. Any investment that pays dividends gives you a place to sleep. The fact that you live in your investment is uniformly a downside, as it hinders liquidity. The fact that you can rent is again not relevant. Most financial investments begin to return a percentage immediately. Renting rooms is just less liquid and more risky than investing in a balanced portfolio.
See above. The amount is irrelevant. Deducting interest is good. However, you must take into account the costs of amortization, real estate taxes, and the costs of borrowing money. Check the NYT calculator. Owning wins out in an up market and only after a decade or so. It is much more difficult the absorb the costs of real estate transaction for those not in the top 1%. Rental is a reasonable financial strategy for any income bracket.
See my post above. Once you pay off the mortgage it is equivalent to paying yourself out a percentage of cash investment. In NYC that number is approximately 4.5%. That is pretty good but not great considering the risks of ownership.
The amount is irrelevant, since you are making the same percentage on whatever sum investment. I think you are using a non-technical definition of liquidity: I can convert ETFs or stocks into cash almost immediately. So for example, it is easy to scale down or to move money from stocks to bonds. The house is immovable property in all senses of the word. It is difficult to convert to cash or to move (in case of political upheaval, for example).
Your last point ignores the significant costs associated with 1. amortization and 2. the liquidity problem. First, given a neutral market, the house decays in value: appliances need fixing, floors, heaters, boilers etc. We are just used to rising prices due to speculation, but nothing guarantees the upward trend. Second, consider the cost of converting cash into house and the other way around: mortgage fees, interest, buying and selling fees, plus real estate taxes.
The New York Times has an excellent calculator on buying vs. renting. The math just does not support your conclusions. Buying wins out after 10-15 years GIVEN an upward real estate market. With any downturns, renting wins out indefinitely. Include the risk of investing into a single instrument (all you money is in the house) plus the stresses of ownership (shit goes wrong all the time and costs you money) and the picture is not so clear at all.
Think of the math this way. A $1mil condo in New York generates approximately 45k/yr income, or 4.5% return on investment per year in rents. Subtract taxes and amortization and ask yourself, can you get similar returns elsewhere? You could for example purchase an index fund with the same $1mil and contribute the gains towards rent. Either way you are living "for free."
It is however risky not to diversify. So if the $1mil is all you have and it is all in the house, you are in danger. Additionally, property is not very liquid. In the downturn it would be difficult to exit. For these reasons, I believe house ownership only makes sense as a portion of one's assets. Renting makes solid financial sense otherwise.
In the conversation of rent vs. own people often forget to take the opportunity costs into account.
I am thinking of a constructive way to solve problems such as these. What do you think of making public the host's acceptance and rejection rate by race and gender?